Eating Soy-Free at a BBQ

/

Hello! Welcome to Beyond Soy!

It’s Memorial Day! That means it is officially BBQ season! We love BBQs, but not all BBQ food is soy-free. So how do we eat soy-free? We pick foods that are likely to be soy-free and we avoid foods that likely contain soy. You can always ask, but since you are outside the kitchen, people may not know all of the ingredients. 

We’ve listed some common BBQ foods and what we do with them. Use this as a guide and BBQ wisely this summer!

IMAGE VIA PIXABAY

IMAGE VIA PIXABAY

  • Hot dogs - We eat them! We’ve never seen a hot dog that contains soy (tofu dogs aside).
  • Hamburgers - We eat them! Make sure they aren’t cooked in any sort of vegetable oil.
  • BBQ meat - We eat it! Make sure the meat wasn’t marinated or brushed with vegetable oil.
  • Buns/bread (for hot dogs, hamburgers, meat, etc.) - We usually avoid them. If the package is there, check the ingredients since some buns are soy-free. But, since most contain soy, we avoid them if there is any uncertainty.
  • Condiments - Read the ingredients! (mustard, ketchup, bbq sauce, and pickle relish are all soy-free)
  • Corn on the cob - We eat it! Corn on the cob is soy-free, but make sure it doesn’t have margarine on it (real butter is safe).
  • Potato salad - Avoid it. Potato salad almost always has mayonnaise…which almost always contains soy.
  • Coleslaw - Avoid it. Coleslaw contains mayonnaise, which almost always contains soy.
  • Baked beans - Usually, baked beans are safe to eat. It doesn't hurt to check with the person who brought it, just to make sure that there aren't any surprise ingredients.
  • Mac & cheese - Usually, it is safe to eat it! It is possible for mac & cheese to contain things like natural flavors, but we usually eat it without worry (keep on the lookout for bread crumbles on top, though!).
  • Hush puppies - Avoid them. Breaded and fried are two words that you should avoid if you are trying to avoid soy.
  • Beer - Avoid it. Choose cider or wine instead.
  • Lemonade - Enjoy, but be careful! Some powdered lemonade contains soy lecithin.
  • Ice cream - Read the ingredients! Most ice cream is soy-free (but you should avoid anything that has chocolate chips in it).
  • Homemade desserts (brownies, cake, cupcakes, etc.) - Avoid them. :( You can’t tell if they were made with soybean oil or soy flour.